Halifax native, who found her faith after reading the Qur’an three years ago, wears the hijab and has a shop that offers fashions for other women in Islam

A life-altering decision about faith has propelled Amanda Redmond into the Muslim fashion business.

The Halifax native, 23, was stuck overnight in a New York airport nearly three years ago when the soft light of the airport mosque called her in.

It was 3 a.m. and sleep was unlikely, so she picked up the Qur’an and began to read. She was taken aback when the words of the ancient text resonated and she found herself nodding in agreement.

“The values it teaches and what’s written in the Qur’an all make sense to me,” Redmond said in a recent interview.

“I’ve always had a fleeting interest, and I wasn’t any religion to start with, so the more I learned about Islam, the more it made sense to me.”

With a new outlook on what it means to have faith and her interest in Islam growing, she continued to absorb what she could from the culture that was undeniably foreign from her upbringing in suburban Halifax.

In time, it became clear to Redmond she needed to officially convert to Islam and become a Canadian revert Muslimah. She was ready to tuck her hair under a hijab, cover up her arms and live a modest life based on her new-found faith.

“When you feel something is right and you’re not doing it, you think about it all of the time.

I knew I wanted to do it and it was nagging and nagging, and I didn’t know why I wasn’t wearing the hijab and fully converting to Islam. After I made the change, that was the kind of freedom I got.”

Broadly, in Islam, hijab is the principle of modesty, which itself is open to personal interpretation. A Muslim woman may choose to only expose their eyes, others cover their entire body except their face and hands and others don’t observe any special dress rules.

Not every woman who converts to Islam immediately wears the hijab, but within a few months, Redmond was wearing her hijab to school — she is a Mount Saint Vincent University business student — to work, and out with her friends.

“I dabbled for a couple of months, and then one day it was just me. It felt right. But then I found it really difficult to find the appropriate clothing I felt comfortable with, on a modest guideline.”

Redmond’s definition of modesty means her hair and arms are covered, but her hands and face are bare, and bright colours and jeans are OK as long as they are paired with a long, loose-fitting top. With a new personal dress code to live up to, it soon became clear to the young business student that there was a gaping hole in the retail landscape.

There are more than 4,000 Muslims living in Nova Scotia, and she found that the female population is reliant on online shopping and parcels from friends. But it didn’t add up; the cost of shipping would more than double the price of many garments, and items would often arrive looking little like they did online.

The aspiring entrepreneur knew she could offer a more affordable solution.

After a little research, she began making bulk orders from the Middle East and Asia. She settled on a business name — Al-Qamar or The Moon, named after the 54th sura of the Qur’an — set up a Facebook profile and began networking.

“It really baffled me that there was nowhere else in all of Atlantic Canada to buy this stuff.

“I wanted these things, all of my friends bought these things and there are other women here who are asking for these things, so why aren’t they here? I guess I’ll do it.”

Al-Qamar officially launched its online store in September and has now garnered more than 1,200 Facebook fans and a growing reputation as a go-to shop for Muslim women.

Operating in a tight niche market, Redmond said it is important that her products stay affordable and that she doesn’t saturate the market with duplicates.

“I’m focused on bringing in 10 or so of each item. There’s a small pool of women here, and if everyone has the same thing, it’s pretty obvious. I want to stay focused on contemporary, modest clothing for Muslim women.”

To date, business continues to gather speed and Al-Qamar has shipped to buyers across Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and even Sri Lanka.

And although she continues to juggle school, work and the demands of her fledgling online business, Redmond is focused on her next goals — growing the network of Muslim women in the region and opening up a brick-and-mortar retail shop.

“It will take time, but I’m patient. People who know me know I don’t just jump into something without doing my homework.”

We non Muslims already know him. We saw Innocence of Muslims!!! Seems the only people who don't know he was a pedo, pig fucker, murderer IS Muslims. Wait NM, they know too. They just don't give a shit.

We non Muslims already know him. We saw Innocence of Muslims!!! Seems the only people who don't know he was a pedo, pig fucker, murderer IS Muslims. Wait NM, they know too. They just don't give a shit.

HA HA - Muslims know it and actually like that side of Muhammad, it means they get to fulfil their sick perverted fantasies by marrying and raping pre pubescent girls.

I've missed you Ekul.i guess you didn't grow any brain cells while you were gone.

You sem to lack far more braincells. They were probably washed out with the poisonous lies that treasonous pedophile prophet. Not suprising that you get so upset whenever someone puts you in your place.

It is FAITH in Science that sees people get on a plane and TRUST that it will FLY The science behind FLIGHT is based an immutable TRUTHS, LAWS which can be verified over and over and over again. FAITH should always be backed up by verifiable TRUTH, not something that one just blindly follows because they HOPE for future proof or others have told them too. To eliminate RELIGION and False beliefs we need to stop Religious Nuts forcing their indoctrination on Children, if you can prevent children being contaminated by the God Botherers from a young age, they may have a chance of growing up to be independent critically thinking adults. But the Religious perverts can't keep away from the children, they just can't help themselves.

You sem to lack far more braincells. They were probably washed out with the poisonous lies that treasonous pedophile prophet. Not suprising that you get so upset whenever someone puts you in your place.

Believing solely in science is also blind faith because you're accepting that you can not answer what the universe and us.

It's called humility. And no one believes in science, at least not in the way a person believe in religion. Apples and oranges. Science is a methodology not a religion. Where religion requires absolute obedience and faith, science demands skepticism and questioning.

Science is merely an experimental tool as developed by Muslim Arabs. Greek 'scientists' based their ideas on pure observation and no experimentation. Muslims introduced the actual scientific method before the Europeans and did experimentation to confirm findings and hypothesis.

That being said. Science is a religion for atheists, as that's all you rely on and your own whims and desires.

There are waay too many intricacies that allow us to life on this planet to say it's all a coincidence and there's no "invisible hand" guiding it.

Believing solely in science is blind faith because you're accepting that you can not answer what created the universe and us.

Actually beleiving in religion is blind faith due to lack of evidence. Ni attrempt is made to find supporting evidence instead lets close our eyes and years and accept stories told by men centuries ago. Science at least tests those theories and rejects what doesnt work. Science is forever evolving and learning. Religion is stuck at books compiled centuries ago.

Just becuase science cant explain everything doesnt mean you can fill those gaps with religion. Ancient science couldnt explain earthquakes or tides etc. Now there are rational explanations. Without the advancement of science there would be no discoveries or explorations. People like you are stuck in primitive aged thinking. Hey you beleive a man who sat in a cave and claimed god spoke to him. Nuff said.